United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. has announced that Myaika Gross, a 40-year-old resident of Denham Springs, Louisiana, has pled guilty to wire fraud related to defrauding COVID-19 relief programs. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles.
Gross admitted to applying for Pandemic Unemployment benefits in five states—California, Kansas, Indiana, Colorado, and Louisiana—while employed as a United States Postal Employee in Louisiana from May 2020 to June 2021. She falsely claimed she had been laid off due to COVID-19 in each state. Gross also secured a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan using fraudulent information during this period. The total amount obtained through these fraudulent activities was $65,928.
The investigation is being conducted by the United States Postal Service-Office of Inspector General and the United States Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Jessica M.P. Thornhill is prosecuting the case and serves as the Deputy Chief of the Economic Crime Unit.
For those with information on pandemic fraud allegations, reports can be made by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via their Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.